Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x14OlebWSCQ
Reviews ;
- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/east_is_east/
- http://www.totalfilm.com/reviews/cinema/east-is-east
- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166175/
Om Puri as George Khan
Linda Basset as Ella Khan
For this research I
am just going to concentrate on two of the main characters in the film. One is
the male George Khan who is the father of the family. The second will be the
mother of the family known as Ella Khan who I will speak about briefly in
certain parts. They are both very different characters in the film and at the
end of this research I would have annotated everything about their characters
in depth.
The director of this film is Ayub Khan Din, he is a British Pakistani
director, play writer, actor and producer. He is very popular for hi by representing Pakistani’s
and British Pakistanis in his work.
Who is being
represented?
• In what way?
• By whom?
George Khan the father, expects his family to follow
Pakistani ways, but his children, who were born and grew up in Britain,
increasingly see themselves as British and reject Pakistani customs of dress,
food, religion, and living in general, leading to a rise in tensions and
conflicts in the whole family. This male is represented to be an old school Pakistani
man who came to England in refuge to seek a better life and to also give money
back home where he already has a family. The way this is shown is firstly by
his accent which stereotypes an Asian male from abroad, secondly his type of
dress such as by wearing a Pakistani religious hat which represents him in a
way that makes audiences feel that he loves his religion/culture and is not
ashamed of it, even more his social life such as having a business (fish and
chip show) also fits in with the stereotypes as Pakistani men were becoming
more popular by owning corner and takeaway shops at that time. Ayub Khan has
perfectly set this character within all the representations of male Pakistanis living
in the north of England (Salford, Lancashire) at that particular time 1971.
Ella Khan who is the mother in the film, but is George Khan’s
second wife is an Irish catholic woman. This
stereotype by Ayub khan is perfect as many refuge Pakistani men married white
women as they would need some loving care as they had left there family back
home, yet this representation is not so common but is certainly true.
Why is the subject
being represented in this way?
The subject is being represented in this way because it portrays
a comedy side to the truth of the film, the reason why George has a very strong
accent is too add to the humour and make the film attracting to keep the
audience excited to hear his next statements.
• Is the representation fair and accurate?
George khans representation I think is fair as it is
produced firstly by a Pakistani man which shows at least 99% truth of how his surroundings
were like when he was bought up. Secondly this is accurate as many Pakistani men
in 1971 were similar such as having a big family and even more being married to
non-Pakistani woman.
• What are the non-verbal structures of
meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication,
clothing, props etc)?
George: This males
expression are normally the same throughout the film as he is a straight forward
character, he believes whatever he says is right and needs to be followed. He has
many expressions in angry ways for example when his younger son Sajid doesn’t
listen to him, he will make a face which you know that something is going to
kick off for example in one scene George is chasing his son in the house as he hasn’t
listened to what his father had told him, the camera shows up close camera movements
of Georges face while chasing him which is hilarious for the audience as it
fits with the representation of the strict Pakistani men in that era. Clip shown below
• What is the significance of
mise-en-scene/sets/settings (CLAMPS)?
C – The children in the film of George khan was very
significant as the audience could tell they were the opposite of their fathers
bringing up. One example is when Meena the only daughter of George is always in
traditional Pakistani clothes when her father is around and when her father is
not around she goes into her English clothes. This instantly gives the audience
a sense of what the film is about..
L - The lighting for the characters was very significant in
the film. For Ella Khan, throughout the film she had low cut lighting which
suggested that she was always overshadowed by her husband and the stress of
bringing up so many children had affected her. She was always imaged as rough
women who would just live the day as it came in the meaning of nothing to dress
up for or to be happy about. Even though the film is a comedy it showed a
representation of how women were portrayed by Pakistani men in 1971, which is when,
married a woman becomes a house wife and looks after her husband and children. This
is why Ella was always shown in low cut lighting for the audiences to feel her
pain and how her lifestyle is. A - The choice of actors and the characters that played the role were perfect. The characters were a great representation of a British Pakistani family living in the north of England. The children played a good role which would differentiate them each for example the 2nd son of George, was a ladies man he would prefer to go out clubbing rather than listen to his father and get married to a Pakistani women, he would attract a lot of white women while out which he thought was alright as his father was married to a white woman.
M - The makeup that the actors wore were very simplistic and
natural. The facial expressions suited the genre.
P - Props were not a major part in this film apart from the
family car which would fit in the whole family when going on long journeys to
see family members which is a true representations of British Pakistani’s, they
all like to fit into one car and go down south or up north of England to see
family members. .
S - The setting was very significant as it showed how the
characters lived; they lived in Salford which was mainly a white community
which has now turned to a vast Pakistani community as a lot of migrants have
decided to settle down there. However, as true representations of the British Pakistanis
living in the north of England this setting was perfect as it would show
children playing in the street just like how life used to be in 1971, the whole
neighbourhood would play on the streets till sunset.
What work is being
done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?The soundtrack/music was important for this film as it helped narrate the Pakistani sense in the film which kept audiences aware at all times that it was a film based around an Asian family. Even more the songs used were well known amongst Asian audiences which drew them into the film even more which is good as it kept their attention and allowed them to enjoy the film.
The producer choice of music was good to suit and match the
scene and the characters, also to the type of genre that the film is.
To which genre does
the text belong?
This text belongs to the comedy genre
Om Puri is a well-known actor who acts Asian roles perfectly;
he is associated with this genre British Asian comedy. He is known by a lot of
directors and is first choice of contact when a new film which has roles for Asian
stereotyped men is involved as he acts the part perfectly which makes it look
so real.
What are the dominant
images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the
text?
The dominant images and iconography throughout the film was
the image of Mosque, community, house, chip shop and George khan. The mosque was a relevant theme as it
expressed the love that George had for his religion and how he wanted his
children to be good Muslim boys and go and worship at the mosque, this dominant
image would express George’s attitudes for the audience to gather.
The Community is relevant because it’s all about growing up
in a white British community and how the children of George khan don’t want to
follow his rules and are more interested in society and fitting in with British
neighbours. For George keeping his
children away from the English side of the community was very hard.
The house and the chip shop was also relevant as this is where
a lot of scenes were set which would show the stereotype of Pakistani men as it
normally happens behind closed doors. This
is what would express the representations of the film more to audiences and
show the lifestyle of George and his children.
What sound and visual
techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the
ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?
Every time George was shown on, the camera angle would
always be of a high shot or a straight face shot, this shows he is the man and
is the main strong male character, whereas Ella always has a low angle show and
dark lighting which represent she is the weaker character. This shows the way Pakistani
men think of themselves such as being in charge and over powering the women.
In one scene it shows George beating Ella by slapping her
and punching her, the camera angle is looked down on Ella but then looked up on
George whom again shows who has the power in the family. This is a stereotype
on Pakistani men, it shows that they over power them and are allowed to hit
them.
How is the audience
positioned in relation to the narrative?
The audience's relation to the narrative sees the
perspective of Pakistani men who now have a family who are British Pakistani’s.
At the time of the film and still at present this problem occurs in most houses
all over the United Kingdom. The troubled relationships, children not listening
to their parents as they are not so modern which then leads to problems? Even though it is a comedy it still shows a
representation which the Asian audiences could relate to.
Romance: love, relationship, normally the relationships
don't start well at first
Comedy: Funny
Pakistani humour: funny words and actions which Asian audiences
are most likely to relate to.
The director of the film, Ayub Din Khan, is known for comedy
films, mainly comedies about Asians. He recently bought out west is west which
is part two for east is east which has become a hit because east is east was
such a big success.
Media Audiences
To whom is the text
addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)
Demographics:
Age: 16-19, 25+
Gender: Males 16+, Female 16+
Psychographics:
E,D,C2,C1- Groups.
How do you, as an
audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and
evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?
I evaluate this film by being fantastic and a good
representation of Pakistani men, even though some critics may argue that it is
racist but as a Pakistani and knowing a Pakistani man was the producer I don’t feel
that it affects me. I am 17 years old and have heard stories about family
members or even more friends being in situations of how the film has
represented British Pakistanis. I myself
haven’t experienced anything like this because both of my parents are British
born so it isn’t the same case were as if my father was a migrated Pakistani man
things could have been different such as less freedom or having to wear certain
clothes. Being a British Pakistani male does make me upset that this is how Pakistani
men are presented to other ethnicity’s which doesn’t give off a good image when
out and about, on the other hand the truth is the truth and I will have to live
with that. I really do recomend this film especially for media students.
